For many chefs and homemakers, peeling vegetables and fruits is a boring, unrewarding task and a frequent cause of cuts and callouses. Heretofore, maintaining contact of a hand controlled peeling blade with a fruit or vegetable has been exceedingly difficult. Moreover, it has not been possible to maintain orderly work areas with existing hand controlled peeling blades and methods. When large amounts of fruit or vegetables have been processed during cooking, baking, and canning, a great deal of time has been devoted to peeling and cleaning of work areas. A need exists for an economical, safe, efficient, and easy-to-use peeling apparatus for homemakers and small businesses.